Brick Wall ATC

Hi crafty friends!  Today on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog I'm sharing words of wisdom and a really cool brick wall ATC.  It's my kind of graffiti!

The small Brick Wall is a great stencil for molding paste (after a layer or three of Krylon tarnish, that is -- see this post for the technique) BUT that's not how this wall was constructed.   Instead, I used the bricks themselves and mortared around them.

First I used a thin blade to release them from the stencil, then lined them up row by row on the chunky ATC/ACEO.  I used a reposition-able glue that sets after a bit.  This allowed me to slide the bricks if needed.  Laying bricks with tweezers is fiddly.

While the Zig glue dried, I put the ATC Stand together with a little white glue.  When the bricks were set, I used sharp scissors to cut off the excess.

The mortar is molding paste laid on with a spatula.  Allow this to dry completely, then paint a layer of gesso.

You can't quite see it in this next photo, but I used a thin wash of brownish-yellowish-blackish water to color the mortar.  Since the bricks haven't been painted red yet, I needed to protect the mortar color, so I added a thin layer of matte varnish.  This allowed me to use a tool (fingernail, skewer, paper towel, etc) to wipe excess brick paint because I'm messy.  I'm not convinced this is a necessary step, but I did it just in case.

Once dried, I lightly sanded it off the bricks.

The brick coloring is a mix of red, black, brown, and dark orange.  Just keep adding color layers until your happy, just let them dry in between layers.

I sanded the edges to smooth out the dried molding paste/varnish/paint and cut brick edges before painting with black gesso.

I printed my graffiti on card stock but it wasn't thick enough.  I used Mod Podge on saved cardboard packaging.  Once dried I cut  them out, inked the edges, and glued onto the brick wall with white glue.

The last step is to seal with matte varnish.

Thanks for your visit today.

Cheers,
Susan


GSLCuts Used
Brick Wall Small #D174W
ATC #C33O
ATC Stand #C43M

Other Supplies Used
Zig 2-Way Glue Pen
White gesso
Acrylic Paint
Mod Podge